Our Opinion: In defense of the sweet gum tree

The Editorial Board

Wednesday

Aug 21, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 21, 2013 at 8:06 PM

Back in the 1940s, Dutch elm disease devastated the tree population in Springfield, killing more than 3,700 trees by the fall of 1949. Hundreds of volunteers swept through the city during November that year, donating their time, muscle, vehicles, equipment, food, supplies, services and money to remove and dispose of the dead trees, many of which were quite large.

Back in the 1940s, Dutch elm disease devastated the tree population in Springfield, killing more than 3,700 trees by the fall of 1949.

Hundreds of volunteers swept through the city during November that year, donating their time, muscle, vehicles, equipment, food, supplies, services and money to remove and dispose of the dead trees, many of which were quite large.

In the years that followed, Arbor Day programs gave Springfield schoolchildren thousands of sweet gum tree saplings to plant throughout the city to their heart’s content. Sweet gums were considered the savior tree that would replace the eradicated elms.

“They were looking for another tree that would replace the American elms because the streets in Springfield everywhere were lined with American elms,” said Mike Dirksen, who has been the city’s arborist since 1988 and before that was on its forestry crew.

“Everybody thought we learned the lesson don’t plant a single variety of trees throughout the city because if (a disease) comes through it’s going to wipe them out. Someone latched onto the sweet gum.”

The American sweet gum tree is a beautifully shaped tree with tall, straight trunks and star-like leaves that turn spectacular shades of red and gold in the autumn. They’re almost perfect. Almost.

Sweet gum trees drop hard, round, spiky balls on the ground during the late winter. People here call them “gum balls.”

The “gum balls” litter the sidewalks, creating a death-defying obstacle course for distracted walkers, runners and everyone in between. They get wedged in the wheels of baby strollers. They clog storm sewer grates. They’re not very pretty.

The city of Springfield started a pilot program in November in which the city will remove a sweet gum tree on the public right-of-way if a property owner is willing to pay $250, which includes the cost of planting a replacement tree.

Residents responded by requesting removal of 338 sweet gum trees. City tree experts determined 296 were eligible to be taken out. So far crews have removed 23 of them.

Some might argue sweet gum trees are inappropriate for an urban environment. Dirksen, who put a stop to planting sweet gum trees after he became arborist, argues they are perfect for the city.

“I see so many other benefits to this tree. How much pollution and dust particles it’s cleaning from the air, how much water it’s absorbing that’s not going into the sewers and not causing them to back up. They provide seed pods for the birds in the winter. How much oxygen is this tree providing for you?” he said.

The city’s sweet gum removal program is laudable in that it is a direct response to complaints — the No. 1 tree complaint, as a matter of fact — from Springfield residents.

However, we urge residents to be especially thoughtful about having these mature trees removed for no reason other than the “gum balls” are a pain. If they’re not causing a serious problem, should they be cut down?

There are other options for dealing with sweet gum trees and the pods. Local companies provide a “fruit eliminator” service that involves spraying the tree in the spring. It can cut down on about 80 percent of the sweet gum balls.

Also, trimming the tree, thinning it out and opening it up a little bit can help reduce the number of sweet gum balls. And, of course, removing the balls from your sidewalk is another way to help alleviate the nuisance.

And think about this: Springfield’s trees soon could very well become a buffet for the emerald ash borer, a tree-ravishing beetle that has been detected in communities east of here. It seems irresponsible to chop down healthy trees at a time when there is the threat of the beetle wiping out all of the city’s ash trees. Springfield’s public works resources would be better spent tending to weak ash trees that may be susceptible to the insect.

Much of Springfield’s beauty comes from its mature trees. We agree with those who say sweet gums are a pain. But property owners should think long and hard about how much of a nuisance those sweet gum trees truly are before asking the city to take them out.

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